Last week, Vermont was rattled by a 3.9 magnitude earthquake centered in Montreal. In September, a small earthquake was felt in New Hampshire.

Geophysicist Don Blakeman says it’s not uncommon for New England to get earthquakes. “This is nothing out of the ordinary to have a year that several are felt,” he says. “Unfortunately we don’t have the science to figure out exactly what triggers earthquakes, that’s why we can’t predict them.”